Fury of the Black Swordsman
by justinketch98
Summary: Asuna gets kidnapped by Laughing Coffin and while the rest of the Knights of the Blood Oath are embroiled in discussing the best way to approach the situation, Kirito takes matters into his own hands.
1. Chapter 1

**The title is kind of self explanatory, and the summary as well. More or less I've always wondered what would send Laughing Coffin's and KBO's animosity to the boiling point, and this sounds pretty good as to how that would have happened. Enjoy.**

Kirito strolled around the 50th floor. After his usual meeting with Agil about bartering for his most recent loot drops, Kirito decided he had some time to kill. Somehow though, he felt oddly tense. _"Something just seems off."_ He thought to himself as he checked out a sword merchant's stand. After trying out a few swords, he decided that they weren't good enough and instead stopped at a local café for a cup of coffee. While looking at the menu in line, Kirito suddenly heard someone call his name.

"Excuse me, are you Kirito-kun?" Kirito turned around and came face to face with two players. Both were wearing red and white clothes with white armor. Each of their sleeves bore a symbol of a red sword with the letters K.O.B under it. Kirito recognized them as players from the Knights of the Blood Oath guild. "_The one Asuna is in." _One of the players stepped forward and held his hand out.

"I'm Captain Kendas of the Knights of the Blood Oath." He introduced, "And this is my Vice Captain Kujo." He said, indicating to his partner on his right. Kirito stepped forward and shook his hand.

"Yeah I'm Kirito. Nice to meet you two." The two men nodded, "Is there a reason you need me?" Kirito asked. Both men were silent for a bit. Finally, Captain Kujo spoke up,

"It's about Vice Commander Asuna." He began, Kirito's eyes widened in shock.

"Asuna-san? What about her? What happened?" Kirito demanded. Kendas sighed and replied.

"During a dungeon clearing, Vice Commander Asuna was kidnapped and taken hostage by the Red Guild, Laughing Coffin."

**Meanwhile, in a dungeon on floor 60**

A group of cloaked players made their way through a winding maze of caves. Behind them, they dragged another player wearing tattered and beaten up clothing. Her hands were tied behind her back and one of the cloaked players had her on a leash. Suddenly she collapsed to the ground. "Aw what the hell," one of the cloaked players groaned turning around, "did she just collapse again?" The one holding the leash walked up to her and lifted her up by the collar around her neck.

"Bitch, will you fucking stop? It's getting on our nerves." The girl replied by spitting in the guy's face. "Why you fucking whore!" He slapped her across the face and she fell to the ground again. She got up and felt her cheek stinging where the guy slapped her.

"You know, you're not helping your tough guy image by attacking an unarmed girl." She said lifting her head up. The guy grinded his teeth again, before kicking her in the face.

"Calm down Marco-san, before you drop her health bar to zero." One of his teammates said.

"Yeah," Another one added, "Shido-sama would want her alive. He wants to be the one who finally puts the legendary 'Lightning Flash' in her place." The man known as Marco gritted his teeth before finally calming down.

"You guys are right." He said squatting down to Asuna's head, "You hear that?" Marco said as he patted Asuna's head, "You're about to know the true meaning of hell. This is just the beginning."

"Shut up you ass." Asuna spat. Marco reeled back a bit. "You'll never get away with this." Asuna said through clenched teeth. "You will all answer for your crimes."

"Argh I've had enough." Marco said reaching into his back pocket. He pulled out a piece of cloth and used it to gag Asuna. "This'll shut up that dirty mouth of yours, now march!" He dragged her up to her feet and kicked her in the back and made her start walking forward again. As Asuna struggled with each step, she thought, "_Please Kirito-kun, or anyone. Someone please save me!" _

**Floor 55, Granzam-K.O.B HQ**

Kirito walked into the HQ's mission room with Kendas, and Kujo walking in front. Kendas approached a man wearing red armor, looking down at a map. "Commander Heathcliff-sama, the player Kirito-kun has arrived as per your request, sir." Kendas said with a salute. The man lifted his head and turned around.

"Thank you Captain Kendas." Heathcliff said, approaching Kirito. Kendas respectfully stepped aside as Heathcliff walked forward. "Kirito-kun," Heathcliff began as he reached out for a handshake, "I am the Leader of the Knights of the Blood Oath, Commander Heathcliff. I understand that you and Vice Commander Asuna-san are acquaintances." Kirito shook his hand.

"Uh, yeah." Kirito replied, "Well we're actually more of close friends than just acquaintances." Heathcliff smiled.

"Good," Heathcliff said, "I am also aware that you're one of the strongest players in game, and combined with your close relationship with Asuna-san, I believe that you are suitable for participation in this following mission." Heathcliff turned his attention back to the map.

"But sir," Kirito said uncomfortably, "Why did you specifically ask for me? I mean you have an entire army of a guild at your command, are they not enough?"

"No it's not that." Heathcliff said turning around, "My knights are already a force to be reckoned with, but you Kirito-kun, you have a special attachment to Asuna-san, and from my experience, a close connection just makes you willing to fight harder. Don't you agree?" Kirito wanted to say something, but stopped himself. "Good, you agree." Heathcliff continued, "Now come here Kirito and take a seat, we're about to begin the mission briefing." Kirito walked to up to the massive conference table in the middle of the hall and took his seat. "_Don't worry Asuna," _He thought to himself as he sat down, _"I'll definitely save you." _

**Ok guys so this is chapter 1. The rest of the story will be up relatively quickly since I had this planned out already. So expect the entire thing to finish in the next 2 days. Also to my "Welcome to Earth Yui Fans", chill, I haven't forgotten about that story. It'll be updated this week.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry about how long it took me to post this chapter, I'm having a lot of work to do with school so the updates won't be as regularly. **

Asuna had no idea how long she had been trekking through this winding maze of caves, but by that point that was the least of her worries. The Laughing Coffin thugs were pretty much dragging her along by this point and she felt sapped of energy. Finally they stopped. Asuna looked up. In front of her was a giant set of metal gates emblazoned with the Laughing Coffin crest. One of the thugs tapped knocked one the door twice with resonating booms. Then slowly the massive doors swung open. They shoved Asuna through the doors, and onto the floor in what appeared to be a throne room. The walls were made of black obsidian and lined with burning torches. Tapestries with the Laughing Coffin crest hung from the ceiling and at the far end of the room was a white marble throne. On it sat a man of great stature. He had his head resting on his hand and wore a black cloak. Half his face was obscured by a hood and the cloak hid the rest of his body. Asuna saw a massive double sided axe strapped to its back. The axe handle had several metal pendants dangling from it. The Laughing Coffin thug Marco walked up to the man on the throne and knelt down. "Shido-sama, we have taken Vice Commander Asuna as hostage as per your request."

"Good." Shido said getting up from his throne, "You and your party have done well Marco."

"Thank you my lord." Marco thanked.

"Now leave us." Shido said, dismissing Marco and his party with a wave of his hand.

"Yes my lord." Marco got up and walked down a separate hallway with the rest of his group leaving Asuna alone in the room with the man known as Shido. Shido stepped forward towards Asuna and knelt down in front of her. He pulled back his hood to reveal a brutish looking face. He had a blocky mouth and crew cut white hair. One of his eyes had a thick scar running from it to his chin. He had an evil grin on his face as if he were inspecting his fallen prey. Asuna looked away from him in disgust.

"You've given us a lot of trouble lately Vice Commander." He started.

"You deserve it." Asuna retorted still looking away.

" ." Shido chuckled, "You seem to don't understand your situation right now, do you?" He sneered pulling Asuna's face towards his. "Well allow me to introduce myself then. I am third Vice Commander Shido. I work directly under PoH. And I happen to be called the Headtaker for a reason." He said indicating to the massive axe on his back. Asuna's eyes widened as she realized what those pendants were. Each of them bore the crest of a guild that was destroyed by Laughin Coffin. Shido noticed Asuna looking at the pendants. "Ah these?" he said with a grin, "They are trophies to some of my most glorious campaigns and battles."

"You disgust me." Asuna spat.

"Hmph." Shido said as he got up, "Looks like you need to learn some manners." He picked Asuna up by her hair. "It's time that I make an example out of you, to let all players understand what happens when they mess with Laughing Coffin." He said sneering.

**Floor 55 Ganzham:**

"We need to act swiftly and forcefully in order to get our Vice Commander back." One KOBD knight said slamming his fist down on the table.

"But they might be expecting that and they may end up using her as a deterrent to get us to leave them alone. She's a powerful bargaining chip." Another one added. Meanwhile Kirito watched the scene unfold very unamused. They have been at this for a solid hour and have not reached a solution. Heathcliff was also sitting there with a similar stolid expression. Then the doors to the conference room burst open.

"Heathcliff-sama!" cried a Knight who came dashing into the hall.

"What is it?" Heathcliff asked, "Why are you interrupting this meeting?" The knight held up a flyer he had in his hand.

"That's the thing, Commander." He said handing over the flyer, "It pertains to this situation and it's not good." Heathcliff looked at the flier and he immediately put it down.

"Leave us." He said to the knight.

"Yes sir." The knight said as he left the room.

"This notice is most grave." Heathcliff said as he slid the flyer to the middle of the table. The people sitting down got up to get a closer look, Kirito leaned forward to read the lines of text on the paper. It read: "_This is a notice to the Knights of the Blood Oath. Your Vice Commander Asuna will be executed at the Blackrock Hills tomorrow at noon if our demands are not met. In exchange for her life, you will pay us 1 million mega col and immediately disband your guild. We await your response." _The bottom was stamped with the Laughing Coffin crest. After reading it, a stunned silence swept the room. Kirito was shocked along with many others.

"Well then what the hell do we do now?" One of the knights asked, "We don't do anything she dies, if we agree to their terms, we destroy the only chance of taking down Laughing Coffin."

"I say we ambush them now." Another knight proposed, "KOBD does not negotiate with terrorists and murderers."

"You're crazy." The previous knight spat back, "Vice Commander's life is on the line and you want to pull a stunt like that?" This back and forth went on for a while around the table before finally Heathcliff cleared his throat. The entire room went quiet. He sighed,

"Prepare the money." Heathcliff announced with an air of finality. "And inform all members that effective tomorrow at noon, the KOBD shall be no more."

"No way." Kirito said, speaking up for the first time in a while, "You're just going to give in like that?" Heathcliff turned to face Kirito.

"KOBD's first priority is protecting everyone." Heathcliff said with a stolid face, "And that will be our overriding goal, no matter the cost."

"That's bullshit." Kirito said, now getting mad. "You just want to admit defeat when the enemy gets a slight upper hand?"

"We won't be able to save Asuna if we choose to fight." Heathcliff said, "I'm sorry but a person's life is worth more than any money here."

"Well I won't stand for this." Kirito said getting up. "If you guys are too scared to do anything, I will." He turned his back towards Heathcliff and walked out the door.


	3. Chapter 3

Kirito sat down on a bench in front of a fountain at the town square. He gazed into the crowds thinking what his next move should be. "_The KOBD is out of the fight so I shouldn't expect any help from them, and no one I have asked is crazy enough to take a swing at Laughing Coffin, looks like I'm going to have to fly solo, as usual." _ Just then a familiar hooded figure sat down next to him.

"Long time no see, Kirito." The figure spoke, looking straight forward instead of at Kirito's face.

"Yeah I know." Kirito replied, also looking straight ahead. "It's good to see you again Argo."

"Well if you're calling me here, there's obviously something you need that you can't get anywhere else, so what is it?" Argo asked.

"Getting right down to business, as usual," Kirito replied, "You never change Argo."

"There's no reason to." She replied, "So c'mon, talk or I'm leaving."

"I need to know where the hideout of Laughing Coffin's VC Shido is. And I figured you would be the only one who would know."

"Laughing Coffin?" Argo asked, surprised, "Don't tell me you're trying to take down an entire guild by yourself-oh wait, I know now." Argo turned and studied Kirito's face a bit. Kirito had worry written all over him. "You're going to try to rescue Asuna-san, aren't you?" Kirito nodded.

"Man you're insane." Argo said leaning back on the bench, "If you're so desperate to die, why not just go jump off the edge of the castle? It's much more painless than the way you're planning on taking."

"Can you help me or not?" Kirito snapped, stunning Argo a bit.

"Well ok," Argo replied, "But it's going to cost you, and since it's regarding Laughing Coffin, it won't be cheap."

"I know." Kirito said, "You can take what you want, just tell me where to go." Argo smiled.

"Excellent." She replied, handing Kirito a slip of folded paper. "That contains all the information you need including on how to navigate the maze to get to their base." Kirito unfolded the paper and looked at it. "In exchange," Argo continued, "You have to pay me double my regular fee, and bring me the axe of Shido himself, I know some people who would pay substantial amount of cor for it." Kirito looked at Argo.

"Deal." He went back to studying the paper. "So their base is in Erebos Labyrinth? This is tricky. But I'll have to do it." Kirito pocketed the paper and got up.

"Thank you, Argo."

"No problem, Kirito." Argo replied, "Just remember about my payment."

"Consider it done." Kirito said as he walked away. As he walked, he tapped his menu button to transfer the cor over to Argo. "_Just you wait, Asuna."_ He thought to himself, "_I'll be there soon."_

**The next morning- **

Kirito collected his belongings from the inn he was staying at. After running a check to make sure everything was there, he closed the inventory menu and left the inn, headed for the Granzam city gates. When he reached the gates though, two uniformed KoB knights were there waiting for him.

"Halt." One of them ordered, putting his hand out. "I'm sorry, Kirito-san, but we're under orders to not let you leave the city."

"On who's orders?" Kirito asked skeptically.

"By the order of Heathcliff-sama himself." The knight replied.

"He believes that if you act, it will destroy any chance of negotiation and will certainly end with Asuna-sama's death." His partner added, "So I'm afraid you can't go." Kirito's hand tightened into a fist.

"Bullshit." He spat, "If we do nothing, then the KoB is dead, and Laughing Coffin's reign of terror will just grow bigger. Is that what you two want? Are you two sure you want to try to stop me?" The knights' hands went for their swords.

"By any means necessary." The other knight replied. Kirito's hand gripped Elucidator's handle.

"Try me." He threatened, "Either way, I'm getting Asuna back, and you two can't stop me." The knights were tense for a moment before finally releasing their swords.

"You're right," the other knight replied, "With all honesty, I don't think negotiation would work. Laughing Coffin is a gang of criminals. Like hell I trust their word."

"At the same time though," his partner added, "we're not supposed to let you leave, but let's just say we had our backs turned for a sec and you snuck out…"

"Now wouldn't that be interesting." The knight said. Kirito gave a slight smile.

"Thanks you two." He said as he began to walk out the gates.

"Wait, Kirito-san." The knight grabbed Kirito's arm. Kirito looked back. "Before you go, take this." The knight gave Kirito a crystal and placed it in his hand. "That crystal will teleport someone to the KoB's prison cells. Use it on Shido when you defeat him. The KoB would want justice to be done." Kirito nodded and put the crystal in his inventory and headed for Erebos Labyrinth.

**Meanwhile at the Laughing Coffin Hideout**

Asuna slowly woke up in her cold and dark dungeon cell. She was feeling groggy and her body ached all over. She winced as she felt a bruise on her cheek. The Laughing Coffin thugs had taken her armor and gear, leaving her with only her undergarments on. For her, it had been a cycle of the thugs beating her up and leaving her at the brink of death, only to be completely healed back and the cycle repeated itself. Unfortunately, the pain doesn't go away as fast as your health goes back so she was painted with dark bruises and cuts on her body. Then the cell door creaked open and Asuna squinted her eyes from the torch light pouring into her cell. Two thugs came dragged her out of the cell. "_Here we go again." _She thought to herself. But this time instead of taking her to the torture room, they dragged her back to the throne room and threw her at the feet of Shido. Shido gestured the the thugs to leave and they left without a word. Asuna looked up.

"So I heard you're still not being cooperative with my boys." Shido said, eyeing Asuna with amusement on his face.

"Fuck….you…all…" Asuna gasped weakly.

"I must appreciate your will though." Shido continued, "Most people cracked under this kind of torment." He got up and lifted Asuna up by the neck. "But unfortunately for you, will isn't going to save your life." Then he threw her back to the ground. "Your guild is already preparing to surrender in exchange for your life. Their spirits are broken. But I must twist the knife even more. Regardless of what happens, you will die today. That is, of course, unless your little boyfriend can come save you." Asuna's eyes widened,

"_Kirito is coming?!" _ she thought.

"My spies have informed me already that he is on his way here. Perfect, he shall bear witness to your death, and my greatest achievement ever." Shido then grabbed Asuna and whispered into her ear. "And once I am through with you, he's going to be next."

"Fat…chance…" Asuna groaned, glaring at Shido. "He'll destroy you, and that bloated ego of yours."

"Let him come at me then." Shido replied. "It's been a while since a worthy opponent has shown themselves. I look forward to it."


	4. Chapter 4

Hey guys, sorry this one took so long but school has taken up a lot of my time. Anyway, here's the fight you've all been waiting for. Shido Vs Kirito, with Asuna's life on the line. Enjoy.

Kirito peeked out from the boulder he was hiding behind and surveyed the entrance to Erebos Labyrinth. The giant stone gate leading into the cavern within was carved with skulls and battle scenes. There didn't seem to be anyone around and no ambush spots were available on this open plain. He stepped out and proceeded into the labyrinth.

The inside of the labyrinth was dark and each passageway was very wide. The walls were lined with dim torches. Kirito kept glancing down at the map Argo had given him to make sure he didn't miss a turn. "If I get lost in here, I'm probably not making it back out again." He thought to himself as a proceeded down a torch lined passageway. Unbeknownst to him, there were three Laughing Coffin assassins hiding in the rock outcroppings above him. They had been tracking his movement ever since he entered the labyrinth. When Kirito stopped at a crossroads the assassins prepared to make their move. They positioned themselves on a ledge over Kirito's position and drew their daggers. Their leader gave a "3…2…1…" Before the assassins dropped down on Kirito's position. In a sudden flash of steel, the assassins' blades were met by Kirito's impossibly fast Elucidator and before they knew it, he had disarmed them and held them by his sword point. Their leader looked up. Kirito's face was stone cold and his eyes were hollow behind them. "You knew…" The leader groaned.

"Obviously," Kirito replied. Then the three assassins feel a sudden shock through their bodies and suddenly, they couldn't move at all.

"What the…." The leader said before his muscles stiffened up completely. Kirito sheathed Elucidator.

"I coated my blade with a potent paralysis poison. It can last up to two hours if no antidote is taken. My business is not with any of you; your lives don't interest me." Kirito turned around proceeded down the forward path.

The rest of his trek was relatively undisturbed which surprised Kirito a bit. "Is it a trap?" He thought to he gripped Elucidator uneasily. Kirito soon at a massive set of doors which the map told him was the entrance to the Laughing Coffin hideout. He tried to pull the doors and found that they didn't budge. "Figures." He thought to himself. Normally any other person would have tried to pick the lock on the door, but Kirito wasn't in the mood for patience. Instead, he drew Elucidator, took a step back and used a Linear Strike to stab the blade straight through the keyhole, destroying the locking mechanism. With a crunch of breaking metal, he pulled his sword out and pushed the door open. The first thing he noticed was a hulking man sitting on a throne in the far end of the hall, his hands on the butt of his axe which he had pointed at the ground. The second thing Kirito noticed was a hanging from the ceiling above the throne. "Asuna!" Kirito cried. Her arms were chained together and dangling from another chain attached to the ceiling. She was wearing nothing but her underwear and her once lustrous hair hung limp and lifeless. She was unconscious. The man on the throne gave a deep laugh.

"So you've noticed my favorite decoration." He said. "This is what I love about breaking people, once you break their spirit, there is nothing left."

"GIVE HER BACK." Kirito roared, gripping Elucidator. Shido got up and pulled back his hood. He hefted up his giant axe and rested it over his shoulder. "Then take her from me." He gave a slight smirk and that set Kirito off. He immediately rushed forward ready to stab Shido in the stomach. Right before he was about to make contact, Shido's axe swung out and the handle slammed Kirito in the side and knocked him over to the wall. Disoriented Kirito shook the confusion from his head. "How can he move that fast?" Kirito thought as Shido approached him.

"Surprised little swordsman?" he taunted as he moved closer, "Don't be." He pointed to the gauntlets on his arm. "These special enchanted gauntlets give me +8 attack speed, meaning I can even keep up with the likes of the legendary Black Swordsman." He raised his axe to deliver a killing blow before Kirito dashed out and rolled to the side, just as the axe came down with a resonating boom. "Excellent, excellent." Shido said pulling his axe out from the rubble, "A quick fight like that would have been boring, but this, this is interesting." Him and Kirito charged towards each other and their weapons collided with a great thud. Kirito pushed against Shido's massive axe. The two traded blows repeatedly. Even though Shido was the larger man, Kirito's stats helped him hold his ground against the unrelenting force. But he didn't notice that Shido had swung his leg back to deliver a kick to Kirito's shin. The strike stunned Kirito a bit, but before he could react, Shido had broken Kirito's parry and knocked him into the air. "Gaghhhhh!" Kirito cried as he fell. Elucidator flew out of his hands and he watched his health bar drop down to almost 5%. Kirito laid on the ground, his entire body aching. Shido grinned as he approached the downed swordsman. "And this is what they proclaim as the best player in the game?" He cackled, "Not even a challenge." Kirito groaned.

"That…was a cheap shot." He spat, struggling to lift himself up.

"Ha!" Shido laughed, "Your body is broken, and you can barely stand. Come, beg me for mercy and I shall end your life quickly." He raised his axe up readying for the killing blow. Kirito felt himself collapse and fade into darkness.

"What do I do? I can't beat this guy like this." Kirito thought, "That's it I'm done, I can't fight anymore. I'm sorry, Asuna." Then Kirito heard a voice cry out in his head. "Do it for me Kirito-kun!" Kirito's eyes blinked open. "Asuna!" Kirito spurred back to life and dove for Elucidator, just as Shido's massive axe came down. Shido was temporarily stunned by Kirito's sudden spur of speed, but before he could pull his axe out of the ground. Kirito flew in with a kick aimed straight at his face, the force of the attack didn't immediately kill Shido, but the force of it knocked him back straight into his throne. Shido was on the ground, with Kirito standing over him, sword raised to impale his throat.

"Looks like you still have some fight in you," Shido smirked, "Finally this is getting interesting!" He knocked Kirito off, and lunged for his axe, yanking it out of the ground. Kirito got up, and the two warriors faced each other. Both knew that this next attack would decide who lives and who dies. Kirito and Shido's weapons glowed and they charged at each other. There was a great crash as the two enchanted weapons clashed. They pushed against each other, neither side willing to give up. Just then, Kirito noticed Shido's left side was unguarded. "I guess I have to use it." He broke the parry with Shido, knocking him down, and leapt back a few feet, before opening up his menu. Frantically, he scrolled through his abilities list before pressing the one he needed. "Got it!" Shido was preparing to rush Kirito again, but when he looked up, he froze. Kirito charged towards Shido, and in his hands was not one, but TWO swords. He was wielding a blue green sword that glowed with blue energy, while elucidator hummed with red. "Dual Raze!" Kirito yelled as he charged.

"What the-"was all Shido managed to get out before Kirito brought his swords down in an X slash across Shido's chest. This time, the attack was enough to blow Shido back into the wall and knock him out, his remaining HP bar at a measly 5 hp. Kirito walked over to Shido, and glowered at his unconscious form. He took his axe, and put it into his inventory. Then he used the crystal the KOB knight gave him. Shido disappeared in a flash of light. "See you in jail." Kirito asked as he turned his attention to Asuna, who was still unconscious and chained to the ceiling. Kirito pulled a few throwing darts, and threw them at the chain links. Asuna fell and Kirito rushed to grab her before she hit the ground. He unlocked the rest of her cuffs with a lock pick and began carrying her home. On the way out of the dungeon, Kirito roused Asuna back. Her eyes fluttered open a bit before looking at who was carrying her.

"Ki…rito." She whispered weakly. Kirito looked down,

"It's ok now Asuna, I've got you." He said with a smile. Asuna smiled back, and tears began forming at the corners of her eyes.

"I'm glad…" She said before dozing off again.

Alright guys, that was the end of this story. Well not quite, an epilogue will be coming up soon so be on the lookout for then. Till next time, have a nice day.


End file.
